Latvian Exporters Association “The Red Jackets” launches cooperation with LV PEAK and presents “Export Barometer”

On 15 January, the University of Latvia (UL) Academic Centre, House of Sciences, Riga, hosted presentations of the sixth “Economic Barometer” created by the Latvian Exporters Association “The Red Jackets”, the “Productivity Research Institute” of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the UL (ESZF) “LV PEAK” think tank, as well as the Youth Sentiment Survey and results.

“The Export Barometer is the first unified export data reporting tool in Latvia that illustrates the export picture and provides an in-depth understanding of export performance. It has been created and developed by the Latvian Exporters Association “The Red Jackets” in cooperation with Latvijas Mobilo Telefon and the Central Statistical Office. The Export Barometer contains both quantitative and qualitative data – stories of entrepreneurs’ experiences – which together act as a tool to help public administrations and entrepreneurs in their decision-making.

The “Export Barometer” was presented and the Association was represented by its Chairman of the Board Kaspars Rožkalns. The presentation and the current data presented can be found by downloading it HERE.

K.Rožkalns: “Exports are currently facing major challenges, but they continue to be the central taxpayer and economic driver. We can see that Latvia is losing less in productivity than Lithuania and Estonia, but all the Baltic countries are losing relative to the EU. Latvia remains less competitive in export markets with rising labour costs, but it is important to remember that exporting companies are bigger, more stable and better employers as they have to compete in global markets to attract talent.”

During the event, LV PEAK and the Latvian Exporters Association “The Red Jackets” signed a Memorandum of Cooperation for further closer cooperation.

LV PEAK researchers have developed the sixth “Economic Barometer”, which covers analysis of current Latvian macroeconomic data and practical recommendations for policy makers. The Economic Outlook summarises consensus forecasts from Latvian and international institutions, as well as macroeconomic experts.

In cooperation with the Research Centre SKDS, the third Youth Sentiment Survey has also been conducted in Latvia, the aim of which is to find out the general confidence sentiment of young people about economic processes in the country, as well as the factors and risks affecting the development of the Latvian economy from the perspective of young people.